This invention relates generally to the field of photographic album pages of laminated type, in which a pair of clear laminae are overlaid upon the opposed surfaces of a fibrous layer to form a pair of pockets open along at least one edge thereof for the insertion of photographic prints or the like. Album pages of this general type are known in the art, and are normally manufactured in sizes corresponding to the size of the retained prints, one print being thereby displayed on each side of the page. Where the page is relatively large and is employed to retain more than one print on each side, the inner fibrous layer is usually coated with a pressure-sensitive adhesive which engages both the retained prints and the clear lamina overlying the prints. In this construction, the page is opened for the positioning of the prints by peeling the clear lamina from the adhesively coated fibrous lamina. This is a more expensive construction to manufacture, both in terms of the number of steps required, and the materials used.
It is also known to manufacture an album page entirely from paper stock, the laminae of which are glued along predetermined areas to form pockets of desired size. This construction requires the initial formation of foldable cut blanks which are embossed or printed prior to assembly, again a relatively expensive construction.
It is also known to make photo album pages completely of synthetic resinous materials, in which the various laminae are bar-sealed using radio frequency sealing means. These pages are quite serviceable, but where the outermost lamina is necessarily transparent, it is often required to insert a paper backing to provide an attractive appearance.
Constantly increasing costs of materials and production have made desirable the development of a simplified technique for the manufacture of relatively large photographic album pages using light-weight materials with accurately formed pockets and high mechanical strength. Such pages preferably include a clear lamina which protects the surface of prints stored therebeneath. The pages also require for appearance's sake the presence of a non-transparent lamina, with the pockets formed by the sealing of the clear outer laminae together. The cutting of such non-transparent lamina, and the insertion of the same into a formed pocket cannot be satisfactorily accomplished at low cost at the present state of development of the art.